Before It's Gone
by x.SodeNoZangetsu.x
Summary: Why did this have to happen? How can a simple mission turn into something so dangerous; something so life threatening? Now, I'm sitting beside a bed in a hospital. What's worse, the bed contains my best friend. And now his life is hanging by a thread.


**Well, here's my very long one-shot! I was going to break it into chapters, but after trying that several times and failing, I gave up and left it as one long piece. It should be enjoyable either way. :) **

* * *

Before it's Gone

Why did this have to happen? Why did this have to be the outcome? We shouldn't have wound up here. This was the last place I was hoping we'd end up in. How can a simple mission turn into something so dangerous; something so life threatening?

My partners and I were sent on yet another mission today by our boss. We were told to try and capture that twerp kid's Pikachu once more. Our plans always fail, and we usually wind up with bruises from Pikachu, but today… No, today was much different. We hadn't even made it to the confrontation of the twerps when _it_ happened. And now, I'm sitting next to a bed in a hospital. What's worse, the bed holds my best friend, and now his life is hanging by a thread…

--

Beforehand

We were told by some grunts that we were to report to the boss' office. My partner let out a small whimper. He was terrified of our boss; and I'll even admit I am too. He begged for us to not go, and just act like we didn't get the message. I almost agreed with him, but didn't, knowing we'd get into big trouble if we disobeyed the boss' orders. Now, I wish I _had_ agreed with him. At least we wouldn't be in this particular predicament.

"Jessie, what if the boss is really mad at us this time? What if he fires us?" my partner asked me in the elevator.

"James, the boss won't fire us. If he hasn't fired us yet, he probably won't ever," I replied.

"But-."

"Don't make me hit you," I warned him.

I heard him gulp and then he fell quiet.

I lead the way into the boss' office. James trailed behind me and our Pokemon, Meowth, was riding on James' shoulder. I walked up to the desk before clearing my throat to let him know we were there.

Without turning to face us he spoke, "Why is it you three are in my office more then any other Rockets?"

I knew it was probably because we weren't nearly as skilled as the rest, but I wasn't anywhere close to admitting to that.

"Because you just like us that much?" I offered.

He spun around in his chair and I saw he was smirking. His loyal Persian walked up to him and the boss began scratching it behind its ears. I heard Meowth hiss from behind me. He had always been very envious of it.

"I don't think so," the boss said, after he quit scratching his Persian. "You know what I think the reason is, Jessica?"

I flinched as he called me by my real name. I wasn't used to hearing it that often. James sometimes called me by it, but very rarely.

"Why, sir?" I inquired.

"I think it's because you three fail more then any of my members!" he yelled at us.

I heard James step backwards a couple of feet.

"Do you ever hear me complaining about any other teams? No, because you three are the only ones that fail EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!"

"B-B-But… w-we do t-t-t-try our very… h-hardest, s-s-sir," James stuttered from behind me.

"SILENCE!" the boss snapped at him.

James whimpered again. "Okay…" he squeaked.

I glanced at him. He was shaking and staring at the boss like he was 20ft tall. I couldn't help feeling sorry for James. He did nothing wrong. But telling that to the boss wouldn't help much.

"I'm fed up with you three failing time after time. I've come very close to firing you three," he told us. "But, I've decided to give you one last chance. But this is your _last_ one. Understand?"

"Yes sir," I answered. "Thank you, sir. We promise to try our very hardest. I swear."

"See that you do, or it will cost you your jobs," the boss replied.

I nodded and bowed before leaving the room. James scurried after me without even bowing. Once we were outside of Headquarters. We tried to think of a plan.

"Why don't we just give up now?" Meowth asked from James' shoulder. "It'd save us alotta twouble."

"Because if we just give up, the boss will fire us!" I snapped back. "He's giving us one more chance, let's not waste it!"

"B-But Jessie," James started. He was even a bit frightened of me sometimes as well. "What are we going to do? All of our other plans have failed."

He had me there.

"Well then we'll just have to think of something better won't we?" I asked him, giving him a smile.

He smiled back and nodded. "Right," he said.

"Meowth! Why do I gots da feeling dis plan will fail too?" Meowth mumbled.

"I heard that!" I yelled.

--

It was all planned out. We would wait until the break of dawn. We had a truck loaded with all sorts of traps that were made specially to trap "pests". We would depart from our campsite early and drive to where those twerps were sleeping, set a bunch of traps in their path; they'd trigger them all and then boom! Pikachu would be ours!

Too bad we didn't even get _that_ far…

--

The next morning I woke up first as always. I looked around where we had set up camp last night. The fire we had made was smoking after finally going out, James was still sound asleep in his sleeping bag across from me, and Meowth was curled up a few feet away, asleep as well. I stretched and got up and walked over to James to wake him up. Now I wish I had let him sleep a little longer. Maybe then we could've avoided what was about to take place.

I had lightly kicked him in his thigh to get him up. He flinched a bit before opening his eyes. I found myself staring into a sea of emerald that seemed to stretch on forever. It was actually the first time I had noticed how gorgeous his eyes were.

"G'morning, Jess," he said in a sleepy tone, smiling up at me.

"Morning sleepyhead," I replied. "Let's get up so we can load the truck and head out."

James nodded and sat up in his sleeping bag. He stretched a few times before standing up. Right when he got onto both of his feet, his stomach rumbled. I rolled my eyes at him as he gave me a sheepish grin.

"Couldn't we grab a bite to eat first?" he questioned.

I sighed. "James, you know we have no money. Plus, the boss is counting on us to capture that Pikachu. If we don't hurry he may give up. This is our last chance," I told him.

"But my stomach hurts…" he whined.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to suck it up," I answered.

"But-."

"But nothing James!" I snapped at him. "Now wake up Meowth so we can go!"

I saw him shrink away from me after I was through yelling. A look of fear was plastered on his face and his eyes were close to watering. I immediately felt bad for what I had said. How could I make him be so scared of me? What kind of a friend yells at their best friend?

"James, look, I'm sorry okay? It's just that I'm really nervous about this. This is our last chance and I don't want us to screw this one up," I explained to him, my voice back at its normal level.

"It's alright Jessie," he said, smiling at me. "I understand. I'll go wake Meowth up."

I nodded. "And I'll pack everything up," I added.

He nodded back and walked over to the sleeping cat Pokemon. In a short time, we were all piled into the truck the boss had let us borrow. James was driving like he always did, I was sitting next to him in the passenger's seat, and Meowth was on my lap. We took off towards where the twerp trio was, according to the information the boss had given us. The sun was just beginning to rise behind us, so up ahead of us was still dark. The stars were still twinkling brightly and the moon was still out. All the signs of a good day to come.

Bull.

--

We were driving down a straight road when it happened. It was about seven in the morning. There was a large field to our left and a small hill to the right that ran down into a cluster of trees.

The truck was silent as we cruised down the road. James was driving pretty fast, but he wasn't going over the speed limit. He knew better than that. He was a good driver and would never do something that would put our lives in jeopardy on purpose. Unfortunately, that didn't hold true for everyone on the road at the time.

"Hey, what's that up ahead?" I heard James mutter.

I looked up from the map I was studying and looked in the direction James was. Meowth looked as well.

"It looks like a light. Wat's wrong wit dat?" he asked.

It was a light, but it seemed to be moving back and forth across the road ahead.

"What do you think it is?" I asked.

James shrugged in response. As we got closer to the light, it started splitting into two lights. It was still moving back and forth across the road, and it seemed to be coming at us faster and faster.

It was a car. Its headlights were on which explained the lights we were seeing and the car was swerving on the road which explained why the lights were moving. I then realized what was about to happen and I tried to call out to James.

Too bad my warning was a tad too late.

My voice got caught in my throat as the car swerved into our lane and started coming straight at us. James realized what was happening as well.

"Oh sh-!"

BOOM!

The car hit us head on at 75mph. Even though we were in a large truck, that didn't help us much this time. Once the car hit us, James lost control and we ran off the road and began going down the hill at a very quick pace. Probably 65mph since that was what _we_ had been going before we got hit.

I screamed as we flew down the hill and crushed Meowth against my chest. We were beginning to near the trees and I knew if we hit them, the ending wouldn't be pretty. I saw James desperately stomping on the brakes in an attempt to slow us down a bit. That didn't work either.

CRASH!!

We slammed into the tree full force. I heard glass shattering, metal crunching, and a yell come from James. His yell was filled with pain, and I instantly became worried about him. The truck didn't stop there though. After we had hit the tree, the truck proceeded to flip over until it was totally upside down. I heard James grunt this time and after that he fell silent. I could also hear Meowth moaning. My head was pounding after hitting my head on the dashboard and back of the seat really hard. My vision was also disorientated to where everything was blurry. I felt for the door handle so I could let myself out. I found it and opened the door, only to find myself tumbling out of the truck and landing hard on the ground. I grunted from the jolt of pain in my back now. Meowth soon fell out on top of me.

I remained on my back for a moment to let my vision become clear again. When it did, I found the trees were spinning rapidly and I felt nauseous.

"Meowth?" I found my voice cracking. "Are you alright?"

"I tink one of my legs are broken," he answered in a weak voice. "Wat happened ta Jimmy?"

My heartbeat increased ten-fold. What had happened to him? He hadn't spoken since I heard him yell when we collided with the tree. I sat up, with much difficulty regrettably, and looked around. Meowth slid off me once I sat up fully.

The truck was lying upside down like I had said before. The doors to the back of the truck had opened and all our equipment for catching Pikachu had spilled out. The roof of the engine was open and smoke was billowing out from it. I know I saw fire there as well. The window shield was broken and there was glass everywhere. The roof of the truck was caved in, and the wheels were still spinning. I slowly stood up, clutching my wrist which had began hurting, and staggered over to the driver's side of the vehicle.

James' door was open and dangling on just one of its three hinges. The first thing I noticed was James' hand hanging out of the truck. I swallowed a lump in my throat as I approached the truck.

"J-James?" I called. "Are you okay?"

There was no answer.

I swallowed again and moved closer. I bent down to see if I could see inside the truck. I could barely make out James' head which was hanging to the side. The smoke was too thick to see anymore. I grabbed James' hand and carefully pulled him out from the truck. He didn't make a peep the entire time. Once I dragged him away from the truck and out of the smoke, I was able to get a good look at him. A loud gasp echoed from my lips.

His face was smeared with his own blood after getting cut up by the glass. There was a large blotch of red staining his lavender hair from where the glass must've cut his head. His bottom lip was cut as well and was bleeding. I noticed his neck had several deep cuts on it and I could only hope he was still breathing. I grabbed one of his wrists and pulled off his glove so I could feel for a pulse. To my relief I found one, but it was deadly slow.

Meowth had finally limped over to us trying not to use his leg that was broken. When he noticed James in the state he was in, he gasped just like I had.

"Oh my God. Is he even breathing?" he asked me.

"Yeah, but his pulse is real slow," I replied.

"Have you tried waking him up?"

I shook my head and went right to that. I gently put my hand on his shoulder and shook him very lightly.

"James, James wake up," I said in a low voice.

He didn't move.

I bit my lip. "James you have to get up. Please wake up," I pleaded.

Still nothing.

"This isn't funny James! Wake up!"

I saw him twitch and he let out a soft moan.

"James? Are you okay? Can you hear me?" I asked him.

I saw his eyes slowly flutter open and I found myself staring back into those beautiful eyes he had.

"Jessie?" he croaked. He looked like he didn't have a clue where we were.

"Yes, what is it? I'm right here, James," I whispered to him.

I clutched his hand that didn't have a glove on it. I felt him squeeze back.

"I-I'm sorry a-about…" he paused and flinched in pain, "about the crash. I-I tried…"

I squeezed his hand harder. "No James, you did nothing wrong. None of this is your fault," I told him.

He smiled. "G-Good," he mumbled.

Then to my horror, his eyes slowly began to shut again and his breathing became very slow and weak.

"James, James, don't close your eyes!" I yelled. "Try to keep them open! I'll get you to a hospital!"

He smiled at me again as he looked at me through half closed eyes. I could see the color fading from his face and his grip on my hand was slowly loosening.

"I'm not going to make it. I'm sorry, Jessica. I… I…" he never got to finish before his eyes shut completely.

"No…" I whispered. "No!"

I frantically shook him again. "James wake up! You can't go! You can't die!" I hollered.

There was no answer.

I began choking on my breaths. "Please… w-wake up. I-I I can't lose you, James, just please wake up!" I begged.

There was still no answer.

I ran my gloved hand down his filthy face. Tears rolled down my cheeks and splashed onto his. This couldn't be happening. He wasn't supposed to die. We were supposed to be together forever. We had promised each other that the first day we became friends. My anger began to get the best of me.

"Y-You promised! You promised you would never leave me! We made a promise James! You lied to me!" I yelled at him, shaking him, trying to get some sort of response.

When there still wasn't one. I backed up from his motionless body and cried. Yes, I'll admit it, I was crying. I pulled my knees up to my chest, put my head down and cried. Let it all out.

"Jimmy, d-dis can't be true," I heard Meowth mutter. "W-Who's gonna cook for us? Who's gonna make us laugh when we're feeling down? Please don't go…"

He went quiet after that for a while and I figured he had begun to cry as well. To answer my thoughts, I heard sniffles coming from his direction. Then another voice broke the silence. One I couldn't identify.

"Miss, are you alright?"

I lifted my head and looked behind me for the source of the voice. Behind me, at the top of the hill was a woman who looked to be about early thirties or so. She had her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and was staring down at Meowth and me.

"We were driving by when we saw a car off the side of the road. My husband and I got out to investigate when I noticed your truck do you need any help?" she said.

I glanced back at James' body. I didn't know if he had a chance, but I wasn't going to give up on him. I looked back up to the woman on the hill.

"We need to get to a hospital!" I hollered back up. "My friend's hurt and I don't know if he'll make it!"

The woman nodded and ran away. A man then came running down the hill towards us. When he saw James he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Oh my God. Is he even breathing?" he asked, repeating Meowth's exact words.

"I… I don't know, but please, you've got to help us. Help him," I begged with him.

He nodded. "My wife's calling 911 as we speak. An ambulance will be here in no time and we'll help your friend," he said. "In the mean time, let's try and get you guys up the hill. Can you walk?"

I nodded. "Yes."

I stood up and grimaced in the pain in my side. I almost fell back down, but the man grabbed me and stood me back up. He held onto me until I got my balance before letting go. I walked over to Meowth and scooped him up since he couldn't walk. I then looked down at James.

"You go on up. I'll get your friend," he told me.

I nodded and slowly made my way up the hill. When I reached the top, the woman ran back over and helped me to her car. She sat me in the driver's seat.

"You can wait here until the ambulance comes. It's on its way," she said to me, in the voice a mom would use when their kid is upset.

"Thank you," I replied.

She smiled. "No problem."

I watched as the woman's husband came up the hill with James. The man had James' arm hanging loosely around his shoulder and he was practically dragging him. The man's wife ran over to help him.

By now, I could hear the quiet wail of sirens off in the distance. I could only pray it wasn't too late for James.

When the ambulance came into view, it screeched to a halt in front of us. Two police cars stopped right behind it. The police ran over to us and began to question what had happened. I tried explaining the wreck, but found I couldn't finish because I had begun to cry again when I mentioned hearing James scream. Meowth reached up and patted my cheek.

The man started talking to the police as the woman and medics helped me to the ambulance. They loaded James onto a stretcher and slid him in beside me. I clutched his hand again and wished he would be alright. Before the ambulance drove off, the woman and man came to the back doors of it to say goodbye.

"You'll be okay now. You'll be going to the hospital in Celtic City, one of the best hospitals in the land," the man told me.

"I wish you and your friend good luck," the woman added.

"Thank you both for your help," I said back.

They smiled and then the medics shut the door. I felt the ambulance lurch forward before speeding off, its sirens blaring once more.

I spent the trip gazing down at James. His face had a pained expression on his face and I felt bad he had to die in agony. Wait a minute, what was I saying? He wasn't dead! He couldn't be! I knew he didn't have a heartbeat and wasn't breathing, but I refused to believe that he was dead.

"It'll be okay Jess," Meowth told me. "We'll get through dis. We always have before."

"I hope you're right for James' sake," I mumbled.

--

We arrived in the hospital in what seemed like no time at all. James and I were separated once we entered. He was taken to one wing, and Meowth and I were lead to some other wing of the hospital. I wasn't sure what it was called.

I found myself in a hospital room with this nurse. She asked me if anything was hurting me and I told her about my wrist and that there was a pain in my side whenever I stood up. She examined me and told me afterwards that my wrist was broken and I dislocated my hip, but only slightly.

"My Pokemon told me that its leg may be broken. Do you think you could look at that?" I asked her, holding Meowth.

"I'm no good with Pokemon, but there is a Pokemon Center attached to us. If you take it there I'm sure they could help it," she explained to me. "If you go down to the first floor, you should be able to find it."

"Thanks, but should I walk with my hip like it is?" I asked.

She nodded and smiled. "Sure, it's nothing big and it should heal in a couple days. Your wrist will probably take a few weeks to heal however."

I nodded and looked down at my left wrist which had a small cast on it. I thanked her again and she dismissed me. I carried Meowth under my right arm and we went down to the first floor to find the Pokemon Center. Like the nurse said, it was right there when we got off the elevator. We went in and I walked up to the front desk where a Nurse Joy was waiting.

"Yes, how may I help you?" she asked me in her sweet, innocent voice.

"My Meowth's leg is broken. Can you fix it?"

She smiled at me. "Oh sure. I'll have it done in a matter of minutes," she told me.

I thanked her and handed Meowth over to her. He looked over Nurse Joy's shoulder at me as he was carried back. He looked scared about what was going to happen. I knew he hated Pokemon Centers, but there was nothing else we could do. I walked away from the desk and sat down in one of the chairs to wait. Other than one other trainer, a young boy with brown hair, I was the only one there. I sat there thinking about James and what was happening to him.

Where had they taken him? What were they doing to him? I really wanted to leave the center and find out, but I didn't want to leave Meowth either.

Almost fifteen minutes later, Nurse Joy walked back out carrying Meowth who had a small blue cast on his right leg. I stood up as she came over to me.

"Your Meowth is fine and its leg should heal in a matter of days," she said.

I nodded, took Meowth from her, and we left the Pokemon Center.

"Where are we goin' now?" Meowth asked me.

"Hopefully, to find out what happened to James," I responded.

"Where do you tink dey took him?" he asked.

"I would think to the emergency care unit, but I have no idea where that is," I said.

"You have no idea where what is?" a voice asked me.

I spun around to find a tall doctor staring down at me. He was holding a clipboard and had a stethoscope hanging around his neck.

"Do you know where the emergency care unit is? I think that's where my friend was taken to," I repeated to him.

"Sure, just follow me," he replied, a big smile plastered on his face.

I did, and he led us up several elevators and through many doors and hallways until we reached two double doors on the third floor.

"Here we are," he said stopping in front of the double doors. "Anything else?"

"No that's it. Thank you very much," I said.

He nodded and walked away. That had to have been the seventh time I've said thank you in the past hour. I walked through the double doors and into the waiting room for emergency patients. It was much more crowded than the Pokemon Center had been. I walked up to the desk.

"Uh, do you know if anyone named James was brought in here in just the past half hour or so?" I asked the young girl who was behind the desk.

"Let me see…" she paused and typed a few things into her computer. "We have a James Mitchell and a James Morgan in right now. Which one are you looking for?"

"James Morgan, which room is he in?" I asked her.

The girl looked back at her computer again. "Uh, room 47B. It's through those doors to the left. It should be one of the last rooms on your right."

"Thanks," I said.

Make that the eighth or so time I've said thank you. I walked through more double doors and walked down the left hallway like the girl at the desk had said.

"Do you see 47B anywhere, Meowth?" I asked.

"Dere!" he exclaimed pointing a paw out in front of him at a sign that had 47B on it. "Straight ahead! Second ta last door on da right."

I ran to the door to find a doctor just walking out. He seemed surprised to see me.

"Who are you?" he asked.

He was an older doctor then all the ones I had met today. He was going bald and had a thick brown mustache.

Instead of answering his question, I asked him one of my own.

"Is this James Morgan's room?"

"Yes, it is. Are you family?" he asked back.

"No, I'm his friend. I brought him in. Can I see him? Is he okay?" I asked frantically, hoping for a yes to both questions.

"We haven't quite seemed to figure out what's wrong with him. I have to say, at first I was going to dismiss him and say he was dead, but then our heart monitor detected he was still breathing. Sure enough he was. He's still alive, but he's only hanging on. I wouldn't be surprised if he died in a few hours," he explained.

"He can't die!" I hollered. "Can't you do something to help him?"

"Well, he's lost a lot of blood, and I mean _a lot_ of blood. We may be able to give him a blood transfusion, but I'm not sure if it will work or not. We were about to take him to get x-rayed to see if anything's broken, which I'm positive something is."

"Can I see him?"

"I suppose. For a while at least," he replied.

I grinned and dashed into the room, Meowth in tow. I stood by the side of his bed. James was covered by the sheets up to his lower torso where there was a large bandage wrapped around his chest and left shoulder. His Rocket uniform and black undershirt were laying on the nightstand next to him; neatly folded up on top of each other. He also had a bandage around the top of his head where there had been blood. His face had been cleaned up a bit, but it was still a bit dirty and there was still some blood on it. He was also getting a couple of bruises as well.

I heard the doctor walk up behind me.

"Do you know what happened to him?" the doctor asked me.

"We were in a car wreck. We got hit by a car and our truck ran off the road into some trees. We hit head on and then the truck flipped over. I managed to drag him out of the truck. He woke up for a few minutes before he fell unconscious again," I explained.

"I see," the doctor replied, scratching his chin. "In that case, there might be something wrong with his head after all the banging he went through. That would also explain the wound on his chest."

"What happened to his chest?" I asked. I didn't remember noticing anything wrong with it.

"Did the truck have a gear shift stick coming from the steering wheel?" he asked me.

"Yes," I answered.

"Then he must've been slammed against that thing. There was a hole in chest about the size of a gear stick. We bandaged it up for now to stop the bleeding and were going to stitch it up later," he explained. "I'll give you ten minutes with him before we take him to be x-rayed. That way we'll be able to know exactly what's wrong with him."

"Thank you doctor," I said.

He smiled. "I'll come back in ten minutes. My name is Doctor Tame if you need me," he said.

I nodded and he left the room. When he was gone, I sat down in a chair that was on the other side of James' bed. Meowth carefully jumped onto the bed next to him, careful not to injure himself or James anymore.

_"Oh James, you just have to make it through this," _I thought to myself. _"I don't know what I'd do if you… moved on. My life wouldn't be the same. You've been by my side ever since we were little kids and…"_

"I don't want that to change," I finished out loud in a small whisper.

"Hey Jess, wat's dis ting?" Meowth asked me, pointing to a machine that was connected to James.

I looked up at it. It was a black screen with a flat green line on it. Every once in a while the green line would go up and down.

"It's a heart monitor," I answered. "It's keeping track of how many breaths James is taking."

Meowth studied it a bit more. "He sure ain't takin' very many," he muttered.

"I know… that's why the doctor said he doesn't have much of a chance," I said.

Meowth decided to be quiet and leave me to my thoughts. He curled up next to James and snuggled up against his face before taking a small nap.

--

Doctor Tame returned in ten minutes like he had said he would. He told me I needed to leave so he could take James to the x-ray and surgery rooms. They decided they would try a blood transfusion after all.

Reluctantly, I walked back out to the waiting room. But not after kissing James on his cheek and wishing him good luck. Meowth, seeing this, smiled slyly at me and snickered.

When I walked back out into the waiting room, I saw three familiar faces, and it shocked me that they were here. One was a tall boy with brown spiky hair, one was a red-head girl, and the other was another boy with black hair and wore a red, white, and green hat; there was a Pikachu on his shoulder as well. How had they known what had happened? They noticed me and walked up to me. The taller boy spoke first.

"We heard about what happened to you guys. About the wreck and everything," he said.

"You guys deserve it after all the times you've tried to steal my Pikachu," the smaller boy yelled. "Ow! What was that for Misty?!" he complained as the red-head smacked him.

"Be nice Ash!" she snapped.

She calmed down and looked at me. I was glaring at Ash. How dare he say we deserve this! It's not like we've actually gotten away with anything we've tried to do!

"Is… James okay?" Misty asked me, her voice seemingly filled with concern for an unknown reason.

I looked at the ground. "I don't know. They said he lost a lot of blood. He was taken to the surgery room. The doctor said he could…" I paused and swallowed a sob that was rising in my throat, "that he could… die in a matter of hours…"

Brock bowed his head, Pikachu lowered its ears, and Misty gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

I was a bit curious to why they actually came to visit. It's not like we were friends or anything. I was especially curious to why Misty was taking it harder than Brock or Ash.

"Is there anything we can do?" Ash asked.

This made me really shocked. He was actually asking if there was a way they could help us? That was new.

I shook my head because there really was nothing they could do unless they were magical gods or something to make James get better all of a sudden.

"Just hope he'll be alright, I guess," I told them.

Brock quickly pulled Ash and Misty slightly away from me and made them all huddle together. I glanced at Meowth, clueless to what the twerps were doing.

"I think we should stay until James gets better," Brock whispered to them. "It's clear Jessie is devastated and she could use some company. I know we're not exactly the best source for that but…"

"It's the least we can do," Ash finished for him.

"Pika Pikachu," Pikachu agreed.

"I feel so sorry for them; James especially. Nobody deserves this, even people like Team Rocket," Misty said.

"Right, so we'll stay 'till James is better?" Brock asked.

Ash and Misty nodded. "Yeah," they said.

"Pika Pi Chu!"

They walked back over to me. All of them had grins on their faces. I was confused to why they were smiling and I'm sure Meowth was as well.

"We've decided to stay here until James gets well," Brock announced.

I scoffed. "Why? It's not like you guys have ever cared about us before," I said.

"This is serious though," Misty said. "You just said James could die and believe it or not, we don't want him to die!"

"Why are you stayin' here den?" Meowth asked.

"Because that's what friends do," Ash said.

Okay, so now we were friends? When did that happen? I decided to just let it drop. If they really wanted to stay they could, just as long as they didn't cause me any trouble.

I was about to say something when a doctor walked out into the waiting room. Everyone in the waiting room turned to look at him, including the twerps and me.

"I'm looking for family and/or friends of Mr. James Morgan," the doctor announced.

I gulped. This was it; the moment of truth. I slowly walked up to the doctor, one who I had never seen before, the twerps and Meowth following close behind. He turned to me.

"Who are you?' he asked.

"I-I'm Jessie, James' best friend," I answered. "Is he… Is he okay?"

The doctor let out a soft sigh and I held my breath.

"I'm sorry to say that… your friend has fallen into a coma and it's very unlikely he'll wake up," the doctor announced.

I let out a soft cry before collapsing to my knees. I put my face in my hands and cried. James? In a coma? With a slim chance of recovery? Could this day get any worse?

Apparently so.

"Do you know what his chance is of survival?" Brock asked.

The doctor bowed his head. "There's only a 13 percent chance," he muttered.

That bit of news only made me cry harder. I felt a hand patting my shoulder, but I didn't care to see who it belonged to. I looked up at the doctor from my knees and stared at him through a tearful gaze.

"Please, can I see him? I-If he won't make it, then I want to see him as much as I can," I said.

The doctor nodded. I slowly stood up and followed the doctor back to James' room. Meowth and the twerp trio remained in the waiting room.

--

Now

So, that's what happened. I was lead into James' room five hours ago and I haven't left since. I'm too afraid to. I'm afraid if I'll leave he'll give up and I can't have that. So, here I sit, his hand in mine, and my eyes dead set on his heart monitor, every now and then glancing down at his cut up face.

The bandage that had been wrapped around his chest has been removed, but the one around his shoulder and head still remains. There's a large line of stitches running up his upper chest now. They look painful. Why did it have to be him who had to take the full impact? Why couldn't it have been me?

The doctors have also removed his pants which are now folded neatly by his shirt and uniform now. Apparently the doctors around here don't believe in optimism, but I do. I believe James has a chance. His gloves are also lying on top of the pile of clothes. Now all he has on are his boxers and socks.

I watched the green line on the heart monitor move up and then down. There was about a minute's pause before the line went back up and then down again. I still couldn't believe it. He only had a 13 percent chance of living. It wasn't fair!

I tried to fight my tears back as they threatened to fall. A few escaped and rolled down my cheeks slowly as I sobbed quietly to myself. I pulled James' hand up and enclosed it in both of mine.

"Please James, you have to wake up," I begged him. "Team Rocket won't be the same without you. _I_ won't be the same without you…"

"Jessie?" a quiet voice asked.

I looked up and saw Misty standing in the doorway. Great, what did she want? I wanted to tell her to go away, but, it seemed as though the tough side of me had run away.

"What?" I asked, with less force then I intended.

"Am I interrupting something? I can come back later," she said.

I shook my head and let James' hand go. "No, you can come in," I told her.

She quietly walked up beside James' bed and stared down at him. I wanted to demand why she was here, but again, all my tough girl personality seemed to have deserted me.

"So, why are you here?" I asked her.

Misty glanced up at me quickly before looking down at James again.

"Well… it's just… I was worried about James. I-I…" she seemed to have trouble getting her words to come out. I wondered why she was stuttering. "I know it may not look like it, but… I really do care about you both and believe you both have some good in you if you just look for it," she explained. "No one deserves this… It's just wrong."

"Tell me about it…" I mumbled.

"Is he- Is he doing okay right now?" Misty asked me, still staring down at James.

"He's still holding on, but I don't know how much longer he can keep this up," I whispered.

"I'm sorry," Misty said so softly that it was barely audible.

Just then, Ash, Brock, Pikachu, and Meowth all walked in.

"Hey Misty, we're all going down to the food court to grab a bite to eat. You wanna come?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Misty replied, turning to face them.

"You wanna come too Jessie?" Ash then asked me.

I shook my head. "I'm not hungry. I'll stay here. I want to watch over James," I said.

Ash nodded and the four of them left. Now it was just me and James again. I pushed his hair out of his face and tucked it behind his ear, but that one stubborn piece just fell back neatly to where it always lay.

_"Oh James, please wake up. I want you back. We all want you back,"_ I thought to myself.

--

"I don't get it, why didn't Jessie want to eat? She has to be starving by now. Plus, she's been sitting in that room for two hours now," Ash said, on their way down to the food court.

"Isn't it obvious?" Brock asked. "Jessie is deeply concerned about James. I wouldn't be surprised if she was actually in love with him."

"You hit da nail right on da head dere kiddo," Meowth said.

"What?! You mean Jessie and James _are_ in love?" Ash shouted.

"I'm not supposed to tell ya. I promised Jess and James I wouldn't tell nobody, so ya gots to keep dis our little secret, okay?" Meowth offered.

"Okay, we won't tell anyone," Brock said.

"Yeah, so how do you know, Meowth?" Misty asked.

By now the four had reached the food court and had found a table while they waited for a waiter to come by.

"Well, I spoke ta da both of dem a couple weeks ago. Da problem is dat dey don't know dat da other's in love wit dem," Meowth explained.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"I mean: James told me one day dat he loves Jessie; he always has since dey first met. But he's too afraid to tell her. He's afraid she'll reject him or laugh at him. Den I asked Jessie later dat same day and she admitted she loved James as well. But, she's also afraid to tell. She's afraid to let down her guard,"

"Let down her guard?" Misty questioned.

"Yeah. Ya see, Jess really isn't as mean as ya tink she is. She just acts like dat to cover up how scared and lost she is underneath. She had a rough childhood just like Jimmy did, but she tries to hide her pain by acting tough and dat nothing frightens her. She's afraid to tell James because she's afraid James will take advantage of her," Meowth explained.

"But, why would James want to take advantage of her?" Brock asked.

"Yeah, he seems like such a nice guy," Misty added.

Meowth looked down at the table and muttered, "Jessie don't have a very good record when it comes ta men. Apparently she was beaten or hurt by many of dem before she found Team Rocket."

"That's horrible!" Misty gasped.

"But, James would never even dream of hurting Jessie!" Ash said. "You just said that he told you he loves her!"

"Yeah, but I also told ya dat dey don't know how da other is feeling, didn't I?" Meowth said, looking up at Ash.

Ash fell silent. "Well… yeah…" he mumbled.

Pikachu hopped up onto the table beside Meowth.

"Pika Pika Chu Pi. Chaa!" it said.

"What's Pikachu saying Meowth?" Misty asked.

"It's sayin' dat it tinks Jess and Jim will find out how da other feels soon enough," Meowth translated.

"Pika Pi Chu!"

"This accident may force da feelings outta dem both," Meowth said. "I agree, Pikachu."

"Chu Pi!" Pikachu smiled.

Their lunches were then brought out and the five began eating. They decided to bring Jessie something back up just in case she really was hungry.

--

He didn't know where he was at all. All he could see was blackness. Was he dead, or was it just really dark out? No, he had to be dead. This blackness he was seeing was darker than dark. It was the darkest any dark thing could be… if that even made sense. Then, if he _was_ dead, how did he die?

He couldn't remember anything. Nothing at all. Well, nothing except one thing. He was driving down a straight road and the next thing he knew, he was laying on the ground, a bloody mess.

If he could use his eyes right now, they would've shot open. That's it! The car wreck! He, Jessie, and Meowth were on their way to capture that twerp's Pikachu!

So, he died in a car wreck. But, what happened to Jessie and Meowth? He desperately wanted to open his eyes, but he was afraid if he did, he'd only see more blackness and that could only mean one thing: he _was_ dead and was inside a coffin or something. He prayed it wasn't going to be the latter.

But, when he tried to force his eyes open, he couldn't. This made him scared. He didn't want to die! He was too young! He was only 22! He hadn't done everything he wanted to yet! He couldn't be dead! What about Jessie? He couldn't just leave her! Not without a goodbye! And what about what he had been keeping secret ever since day one? Now he could never tell her! If he was still alive, he would probably begin to cry right now.

That's when he heard it.

_"James?"_

What was it? A voice? But, he was dead! How could he be hearing voices? Nothing was making sense anymore!

_"James are you okay?"_

That voice sounded awfully familiar.

_"Can you hear me?"_

Could it be…?

_"We all really want you back."_

It was! Jessie! Jessie was talking to him! But how could he hear her? He was dead, didn't she know that?

_"I wish you could respond… I really could use your comfort right about now…"_

_"I'm trying Jessie! I really am! But, I have no idea what's going on. Can you tell me?" _

He tried to make contact back, but to no avail. It was hopeless. What could be worse then hearing your best friend's voice, the voice of the woman you love, yet not be able to respond back to her? He just wished he was dead right now. Oh, wait… he was.

--

I was still sitting in the chair by James' bedside. I had been nodding off when I heard a soft whimper. I had leaned forward and noticed James was shaking. I grabbed his hand and asked him what was wrong and if he could hear me, but nothing happened.

James whimpered again and I could just make out faint cries escaping from his lips. Could you cry in a coma? I didn't know and there were no doctors around at the moment.

Then it began to get worse. James' cries got louder and he began shaking harder. I didn't know what was happening, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good. I found the Nurse Call button and pushed it ten times before a voice came on.

"Yes, what do you need?"

"You have to get down here fast! Something's wrong with my friend!" I hollered back.

--

He wanted to open his eyes. He wanted to see. He wanted to smell, taste, and feel. But, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do anything. He was beyond scared now. He couldn't be dead. This couldn't be happening! He thrashed about and tried to open his mouth to cry, but he had no idea if it was doing any good or not. What was going to happen to him? Would he always be like this? Living, yet not living at all?

--

Doctor Tame rushed into James' room. By now, James was tossing and turning on the bed, his cries beginning to grow more vocal. I was squeezing his hand, hoping he'd calm down. Doctor Tame immediately realized what was happening and gasped.

"Oh no…" he muttered.

"What is it?" I asked. "What's happening? "

Without answering me, Doctor Tame pushed the Nurse Call button and shouted into it, "I need more doctors in room 47B stat!"

--

He was still trying to thrash about, hoping someone would help him. Hoping to hear Jessie's voice again.

_"Jessie, where am I? Where are _you_? Why can't I see anything? I'm so scared!" _

His mind screamed out since his mouth couldn't move. Then he felt something grasp something of his. He assumed it was a hand which had grabbed his. He felt the hand began to squeeze his.

_"What's wrong with him doctor?" _

Jessie's voice was back! Now was his chance to try to respond to her again. He stopped his thrashing so he could concentrate.

_"Jessie, Jessie answer me! Tell me you can hear me! Please!"_

This time a new voice came in that he had not heard before.

_"We have to assume the worst which would be your friend is running out of air and dying."_

Dying? He was dying? Wasn't he already dead? After that it went out of control. More voices started talking, but they were shouts and very fast. They sounded worried and stressed. He began to grow scared again and started to toss and turn once more. He wished he could see what was happening.

He then felt himself being restrained and soon he couldn't move. He tried all he could, but whatever was holding him down wasn't going to allow any sort of movement. He tried crying out again, but that only made the voices get louder.

_"Get me a syringe!"_

_"Hurry!"_

_"We're loosing him!"_

_"Don't give up!"_

The hollers and shouts seem to fill his mind and he couldn't get them to go away. They were losing him. Slowly, but surely he was dying. A sharp pain ran through his head from all the noise. And then, Jessie's voice came back.

_"Hang in there James. Just hang in there."_

_"I'm trying Jessie, I really am!" _

_--_

By now, Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, and Meowth had arrived back up to James' room, only to find themselves being ushered back out into the waiting room by frustrated doctors.

"Why can't we go in?" Ash asked a doctor who hurridly was trying to get them into the waiting room.

"I'm sorry, but we have our hands full at the moment. No one's allowed to see anybody right now," the doctor told the group of five as well as everyone else in the room.

With that he turned and walked back through the doors that lead to the rooms.

"Hey, you didn't answer my question!" Ash shouted after him.

"You don't think they're having trouble with James, do you?" Misty asked quietly, staring down at the floor.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Brock stated. "The doctors did say he didn't have much of a chance."

Meowth gasped. "No! Jimmy!"

He then ran on all fours through the doors. Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu tried to go in after him, but the lady at the front desk kept them out in the waiting room. Now all they could do was hope James would be alright.

--

I stood by the wall allowing the doctors plenty of room around James. I tried to peek to see what they were doing, but they were so close together it was practically impossible. Why was this happening? Why, why, why, why, why?

"Jess!"

My head turned towards the door and I saw Meowth running up to me. He jumped into my arms and buried his face in my chest.

"Wat's happening? Is James okay?" he asked.

"I don't know what's wrong. James just started to suddenly thrash about and whimper. Even the doctors aren't quite sure what's happening. They did say however for me to expect that this won't end the way we all want it too," I explained.

"Wat will we do if he does…?" Meowth didn't finish his question, in fear he'd begin to cry. I didn't blame him. "Wat will we do Jess?"

I rubbed his back and mumbled, "Let's try not to think about it that way okay?"

Meowth nodded and we continued to watch the doctors carry on with their work and pray James would be okay. Wait and pray; that's all we could do now.

--

He continued to try and struggle against his bonds, but he couldn't break free. He continued to scream hoping someone would help him. He wasn't even paying attention to what anyone was saying anymore. He just wanted this to end. And it finally did…

He felt a sharp pain in his chest which caused him to yelp, although he still didn't know if it was actually audible or not. Once the pain died down, he felt himself grow cold as the world around him seemed to grow quiet.

Then he tried opening his eyes…

--

I watched as the doctors stuck a syringe filled with a yellow liquid in James' chest. The liquid soon disappeared into his body and the doctor pulled the syringe out. All of a sudden, James stopped thrashing and went stone still. I gulped and bit my tongue thinking the worse had happened.

Doctor Tame then walked over.

"He was having a seizure inside his coma. We gave him an antibiotic to stop his thrashing," he told me.

"Will he wake up now?" I asked.

Doctor Tame shook his head. "I'm not sure. The seizure could've been a good sign or a bad one. I've never seen someone in a coma go into a seizure before," he said, deep in thought. "Only time will tell. "

He and the rest of the doctors walked away as I walked over to James' bed again. There was now a tiny band-aid on his chest where they must've injected the antibiotic. His chest was also slick with sweat and there were tear tracks on his cheeks. What had just happened?

I held James' hand again and squeezed it before shutting my eyes. I felt Meowth climb up my back so he was looking over my shoulder at James.

I had my eyes shut at the time when I felt a grip on my hand. I opened my eyes and looked at James. The grip on my hand was growing tighter and tighter by the second. It was eventually so tight I flinched in pain. I looked down at James and my joined hands to find his hand wrapped tightly around mine. He had such a firm grip on me that his knuckles were stark white. That could only mean one thing… I grinned.

"James? Can you hear me, James?" I asked.

As if it was a miracle, James' eyes slowly fluttered open. He shut them quickly and jerked his head to the side so it was facing away from me.

"James?"

I gently turned his head so he was facing me. His eyes were glazed with tears and were also quite red. He looked at me and a look of confusion crossed his face.

"J-Jessie? Is… Is that you?" he asked, his voice hoarse and quiet.

I nodded. "Are you feeling okay?" I asked.

Okay, it was a stupid question, but yet, people always ask it even when the answer's obvious.

"I… can't feel my body. D-Did they decapitate m-me?"

Despite the situation we were in, I couldn't help but laugh.

"No, you're still in one piece," I answered for him.

"So, I'm alive?" he asked.

Meowth then popped his head over my shoulder. It must've scared James in his weak state because he jumped in the bed.

"You be yer still alive! I told Jess nothing would happen ta ya!" he said.

He then jumped onto the bed next to James and snuggled up against James' face, purring, which was something he did rarely.

"Ya had us worried, Jim. Da doctors said ya only had a 13 percent chance of survival," Meowth told him.

I watched as the color drained from James' face. "R-Really?"

"It's true, but don't worry about it," I told him quickly. I didn't want him to get scared. "You're okay, so that's all that matters."

James looked from Meowth to me.

"Jessie, what happened to me?" he asked. "All I could see was blackness. I could hear voices though. I-I tried to respond to them, but I don't think it worked."

"You were in a coma," I answered.

His eyes grew wide. "I-I was?"

I nodded and saw him shiver. I held his hand and reassured him everything was going to be okay now. In all honesty, I couldn't believe I hadn't broken down into tears yet.

James' eyes kept fluttering closed for a few seconds before they would open again. I knew he had to be tired. I wondered how long he would have to stay in the hospital to recuperate. I knew the doctors wouldn't let him out today.

"I can't believe it…" a voice muttered.

"James! You're okay!" another hollered.

"Pi Pikachu!"

I turned my head as the three twerps filed in. They all stood on the other side of the bed I was on. Pikachu jumped up onto the bed and sat next to James' head.

It took awhile for James to register that the twerps were standing right next to him and that Pikachu was inches from his grasp. Once he did though, the look on his face was priceless.

"T-Twerps? What the heck are you g-guys here for?" he asked, his voice still weak and quiet.

"We heard on the news that you guys were in a car wreck and decided to come visit," Brock explained.

"Yep. We've been here for three days now. We haven't left the building once," Ash added.

James looked amazed. "R-Really?"

Misty nodded. "It's true," she said. "So, how are you feeling?"

"I'd use a different word if you kids weren't in the room, but since you are, I feel like crap," James said.

"Pika!" Pikachu stated, patting James on his cheek.

Meowth laughed. "Pikachu says it's understandable," he said.

Everyone in the room shared a laugh, even James, although I could tell it hurt him to do so. Our laughter brought Doctor Tame in the room. He seemed surprised to see us all in here, but he was even more surprised when he saw James was awake.

"I… I can't believe it," the doctor muttered. "He actually survived."

Well duh, I wanted to say. James and I are inseparable. If he was to die, that would mean I would too. We'll never leave each other. Not now, not ever.

Nobody said anything to him, so Doctor Tame spoke up again.

"Well, I guess it's safe to say he'll be okay. We're still going to have to keep him here for a few more weeks in order for him to recuperate," he explained.

"Do you know how many more weeks he'll have to stay?" I asked.

Doctor Tame shrugged. "It all depends on what he can still do by himself."

"What does that mean?" Ash asked.

"Well, whenever we have patients here that have just recovered from a vehicle accident, we always have to test them on basic things. Things you first learned as a baby, such as how to stand up straight, walk, and balance on one foot," the doctor answered.

"I have to do all that before I leave?" James asked, a slight whine to his voice. "What if I don't pass?"

"Then you'll have to stay here until you learn again," Doctor Tame told him. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to start the test. If all you would move to the wall, we'll begin."

Ash, Brock, Misty, Meowth, Pikachu, and I all walked over to one wall in the room.

"Now, Mr. Morgan, please, try and get out of the bed," Doctor Tame said.

James shot me a worried look, but I nodded my head to tell him to go on and try. James slowly pulled the covers off him and he sat up. Misty let out a soft giggle when she noticed James was only in his boxers. I shot her a glare and she went quiet. James then turned so his feet were hanging off the side of the bed. He stopped for a moment like he was trying to remember what to do next. He then began to push himself off the bed. I saw his arms shaking as he tried to stand up in his weak state. He got to his feet and swayed a bit before standing up straight.

Then he fell back down on the bed.

James cursed before trying again. I found this to be slightly unfair. He had just come out of his coma. Shouldn't he be resting? I thought they should've at least waited until tomorrow to give him the test.

_"C'mon James, you've got this,"_ I told myself in my thoughts.

This time, James successfully stood up and stayed up. Doctor Tame smiled and nodded.

"Very good, Mr. Morgan. Now, please balance on your left foot," he said.

"Can I hold onto something?" James asked.

Doctor Tame shook his head and James let out a small groan. Moving slowly again, James began to lift his right foot off the ground. He put it down quickly as he started to lean over. I saw him bite his lip as he tried again. He managed to stand on just his left foot, but he was wobbling terribly.

Doctor Tame told him to then switch to the right foot. James sighed and put his right foot down and started to lift the left one. Like before, he had to put it back down before trying again. He was a bit steadier on this foot then he had been on the left.

"Very nice," Doctor Tame said. "Now, here comes the hardest part."

"Great," James mumbled. Ash smiled at this and tried to stifle a laugh.

The doctor backed up several feet. "Try walking to me please," he said.

James looked down at his feet. He stared at them for a long time before he moved. Still moving slowly, he started off by lifting his right foot. He began moving it forward when he lost his balance and fell to the floor.

I moved to run to him and make sure he was okay, but remembered he had to do this by himself. Even though I wanted to help him, I knew I shouldn't.

James cursed some more before carefully getting back onto his feet. I knew he needed encouragement to do this.

"C'mon James, you can do this!" I called to him.

"Yeah James, you can do it!" Ash joined in.

"Just concentrate!" Misty added.

"Go James!" Brock cheered.

"Ya know ya can do it! Yous done it before!" Meowth hollered.

"Pi Pikachu!"

James looked back at all of us and smiled. He locked eyes with me and I could see the flame of determination flashing in his eyes. I gave him a smile before he turned back around. Doctor Tame was grinning from where he stood.

James took a deep breath before trying again. This time, he started with his left foot. He raised that one up and brought it down cautiously in front of the other. It made contact with the floor and he didn't fall to the ground. One step down, about five more to go. James lifted his right foot so he could move it up to where his left one was. He was bringing his foot down again…

And he fell.

He pounded the floor with his fist as Doctor Tame walked over.

"That's alright, Mr. Morgan," he said. "Many of our patients have trouble walking after having an accident. I'd say in about three weeks you'll be just fine."

"Three weeks?" James repeated, his mouth hanging open slightly. "It's going to take me that long?"

"Well, we don't want to rush things. And who knows, if you're walking fine by the end of the first week, we'll let you go early. It all just depends," Doctor Tame said. "For now, I suggest you get back in bed and get some rest. We'll try again tomorrow. "

The doctor helped him up and then I helped James back to his bed. He actually wasn't too bad when he moved his left leg; it was the right that made him fall each time. I was curious to if anything was wrong with it.

Doctor Tame then left saying he'd be back in two hours to give James some pajamas. The twerps and Meowth walked back over to James' bed.

"Well, you almost had it," Ash said.

"Yeah, if you call "almost having it" falling every other step you take," James pouted.

We all knew James was pretty mad right now. He wanted to go home and I wanted him to too.

"Do you want us to stay here until you… learn?" Brock asked him, hesitating on the last word.

James looked up at them and shook his head. "You can if you want, but I know you probably want to get back to your Pokemon Journey, Ash. You guys can go, I won't mind," he told them.

"Are you sure?" Ash asked.

James nodded. "Absolutely."

Ash smiled and the twerps all wished him good luck before they left the room. They all waved as they left. Now it was just Meowth, him, and me. The team, reunited once more.

James then turned to face us and said, "You guys can go back to the base if you want. I know you'll probably get bored staying here for three weeks."

"We're not leaving ya Jimmy," Meowth told him, on the bed next to him again. "We're gonna stay wit'cha 'till yer 100 percent betta!"

"Is that so?"

The three of us turned to look who had said that. We saw it was Doctor Tame, who was standing in the doorway. He walked up to the three of us.

"Mr. Morgan, I'm afraid you're friends will have to leave tonight," he said.

James' face fell. "You mean they can't stay with me?" he asked.

Doctor Tame shook his head.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Yeah, Jimmy's our best friend! We don't want ta leave 'im!" Meowth agreed.

"I'm sorry," Doctor Tame said. "But if you want to leave as soon as possible, you'll need to focus on walking again. Having your friends here with you may take some of your focus away."

"Awwww… that's not fair," James whined.

He then got a frightened look on his face.

"Jessie, what if the boss finds out that I'm in the hospital? Who knows how long I'll be here. That was our last chance to catch Pikachu. What if he fires us now because we failed?" he asked.

"The boss won't find out. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?" I said.

"I guess, but what if he calls you and asks for our progress? What will you say?"

"I'll think of something," I told him. "You just focus on getting better okay?"

James smiled and said, "I will."

After that we had to say goodbye.

--

It had been a week since I left James at the hospital. A week and two days to be precise. The boss _had_ called to ask for progress. I decided to go ahead and tell him the truth. Surprisingly enough, he wasn't mad. He actually offered to pay the hospital bill for us. Meowth and I were shocked for the rest of that night.

James had been really upset that the doctor had made Meowth and me leave. I knew he despised hospitals and having to learn how to walk again didn't help his mood.

But James can do it. I know he can. People take one look at him and think, "Oh he's such a wuss, he'll never be someone important." But deep inside, James isn't a wuss; he's a strong young man. And James is someone important in my eyes. He's my partner, my best friend, and he may be something more. Well, at least, I keep telling myself that.

"Wat'cha tinkin' 'bout, Jess?" Meowth questioned me, hopping up onto our bed. "Yous been awfully quiet dis week. Are ya tinkin' 'bout Jimmy?"

I knew I was blushing as I answered, "Yeah, in fact, I am."

"He'll be okay ya know. It's not like he's still in dat coma or someting."

"I know Meowth," I said. "But, it's been a week since we left. What if he's having trouble learning how to walk again? What if he needs us?"

"Jimmy will be fine. He was okay before ya found 'im and he joined Team Rocket," Meowth said.

"But when I did find him, he was freezing to death," I said back.

Meowth gave me a hard look and said, "Look Jess. I know yer upset and you miss 'im, but dere's notin' yous can do. He'll be home soon."

As if Meowth was psychic, the both of us heard the front door open, and then the unmistakable voice of James carry through our cabin.

"Anyone order a pepperoni pizza?" he joked, giggling as he did so.

Meowth looked at me and smirked before saying, "See?"

I jumped off the bed and ran out to the main room. When I got there, James was standing by the door, in full Rocket uniform, smiling like a child with a new toy.

I couldn't hold it in and I ran to him and wrapped my arms around him. He returned the embrace before speaking.

"I take it I was missed?" he asked, a foolish grin taking place of the childish smile.

I grinned back and said ever so seductively, "You bet you were."

And with that, I kissed him. I didn't care if Meowth was watching or not. This was what I had always wanted, and now that I had it, I would make sure never to let it slip away from me again.

The End

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